COLDSORES!!!!!! I can't cope any longer.

[FruitCakey]

I currently have a huge coldsore on my bottom middle lip. It is so painful and I feel dreadful.
Throughout the day, I felt the tingle and have currently got swelling on my top lip too. This is my fourth in 3 weeks. They're painful and make me feel so ugly! Any genuine tips to help get rid of/prevent them? I am at my witts end. Thanks.

Go to your dr they may be able to give you something systemic.

I use a cold sore machine and zovirax.

I second going to your doctor. The virus is clearly rampant for some reason right now.
Once on holiday in the States I developed cold sores that entirely covered my bottom lip and beyond. Attractive it was not. Also painful. I went to a clinic and was given oral acyclovir which stopped it dead in it's tracks. I think it was quite a while before I got another one.

Wish there was a vaccine.

You can take lysine supplement as might be low in that.

I've stopped using the creams, they become useless after a while (used them for about 20 yrs)

get to your doctor and get a prescription for acyclovir pills, begin taking them as soon as you feel the first tingling of a cold sore. Continue taking them for 5 days or so

since I started the pills about 4 years ago, I have gone from 4 to 6 massive cold sores per year (they used to take a week to heal), to about 3 times a year now where I get barely visible cold sores that are gone in a day or two

can you tell I love acyclovir pills

L-lysine works for me.

They're horrible aren't they. I used to get one or two a month and they'd take a minimum of 6 days to get better. A friend recommended Liquorice Balm from an online shop and since using it I've had about 5 in 6 years...it really worked for me. I've since recommended it to a couple of others who suffered from regular coldsores and it worked brilliantly for them too. For about £8 it was the best thing I've ever bought and well worth a try.

Poor you .

Are you run down or stressed - that's always a trigger for me. I use Zovirax or generic alternative plus pure tea tree oil at the first tingle - it works most of the time. My daughter has also been prescribed oral ancyclivor during a particularly awful outbreak?

Thank you. I think I will be phoning my GPs surgery tomorrow.

The first sign of tinging put a Compeed patch on overnight. I take mine off in the morning and use Zovirax then apply another patch the following night. Stops it in its tracks.

Sympathies..they are awful awful . I get them once or twice a year if I get run down or unwell. I've only just seen the back of a horrible one on my top lip which came along when I went down with a chest infection. Even using patches and also cream it lasted well over a week.

I didn't know there were tablets from the doctor. Will remember that. And also chocbik Please can you explain what a cold sore machine is. Sounds interesting

Using a uv sunblock on your lips can help prevent them, as can reducing your alcohol intake

There's a laser type hand held thing you can buy in boots, really effective, used to stop my ex's coming out if used at tingle.

They are caused from the herpes virus which is quite easily transferred from person to person. They say that lysine helps, as other posters have mentioned, but if you don't want to take the supplement, you can eat a lot of tomatoes which have a high lysine content.

I would go to the doctor though to get checked over.

Thanks Vanitas I didn't know about those. Will investigate.

Go to doctor and get acyclovir. It is cheap and can be taken long term to bash the virus.

I second Aciclovir tablets - available OTC here and touch wood I have not had one emerge since. Take at first tingle as you would apply zoviraz.

There is also another topical ointment with a different active ingredient - not aciclovir but something beginning with v (?) that worked better for me.

Those cold sore laser things seem to work on pimples too

I used to get them loads but these days they are pretty rare.

For me, lip sunscreen on at any sign of sun is a must. In France they are called boutons de soleil or literally, sun spots. That gave me that clue and it does really help prevent them.

Secondly if I feel a tingle I put a Cold sore patch on immediately. I have tried the boots ones but they are not half as slim as the compeed ones. Compeed ones are worth the money.

I used to use Zovirax/aclivor but like the way the patches stop any trace of crusting. I can have a cold sore for days and people barely notice if at all with the patches.

I did buy the Boots cold sore machine for around £25 but didn't find it effective.

Good Luck.

I have had relentless cold sores for years and there isnt a remedy I haven't tried. Zovirax does lose its effect after a while but have you tried Fenestil? It has a different antiviral (Pencyclovir) which I find works wonders. There aren't many shops that sell it so I get it on line. I combine this with the zapper machine and if used as soon as you feel the tingle can usually send the little buggers packing!

Having said that it sounds like you could do with a course of anti viral tablets. On a few occasions I have been prescribed acyclovir tablets and they do seem to lessen the attacks or space them out a bit more.

When ever I have a real stinker of a cold sore blighting my face I always think thank god I'm not getting married today . It's oddly comforting!

Nb been married 25 years, clearly a big issue for me.

I take acyclovir twice a day as a preventative measure. I was getting one every 3 weeks and felt utterly miserable. I take 400mg tablets and think that's probably a high dose but it's the only thing that's made any difference and it's not an exaggeration to say my quality of life has improved.

I have never been able to stop a coldsore in it's tracks!! My cold sores are always huge bastards and cause my whole mouth area to distort.

The last one I had was November 2012 a few weeks before my son was born. None since thankfully. I take Lysine everyday as I'm due another one really as I get one every few years.

what i also love about the tablets.... if you have situations you know you're going to get a cold sore with, like with holidays in the sun, or when you're run down, or missed sleep, or stressed.... take the acyclovir tablets and they prevent the cold sore ever coming. I honestly can't rate these things highly enough. I wish I had found them 20 years earlier. Like iamthedanger says, my quality of life has improved with these pills. Most of my cold sores I can now ward off completely through using the pills as a preventative measure, and the cold sores I miss coming on amount to nothing as long as I start using the pills immediately when I feel the first tingling. If you go down the pill route, I would advise always having 2 or 3 on you. I take 5 pills a day (200mg) for 5 days when I have an actual coldsore. It would defeat the purpose of the pills to discover a coldsore at 9am at work and not having access to the pills till 7pm at home. That's why I always have 2 or 3 in my purse at ALL times.

zovirax works well for me. I find that using a good moisturizer and vaseline on my lips helps to prevent coldsores from happening so often. Chapped lips and coldsores are different, however for me my chapped lips often become coldsores.